Collapsible awning



June 19, 1962 w. B. RUIZ COLLAPSIBLE AWNING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 17, 1960 F l G. 10

INVENTOR. William B. Ruiz Attorney June 19, 1962 w. B. RUIZ 3,039,526

COLLAPSIBLE AWNING Filed June 17, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

William B. Ruiz BY Attorney 3,039,526 COLLAPSIBLE AWNING William B. Ruiz, 315 E. th St., Miami, Fla. Filed June 17, 1960, Ser. No. 36,798 5 Claims. (Cl. 160-432) My invention relates to awnings and is directed particularly to an improved collapsible awning having telescoping metal sections.

Collapsible metal awnings of the type having telescoping metal sections are known. Such awnings as have heretofore been designed however have proven unsatisfactory for various reasons, principal among which were their inability to collapse into a small enough size as to be unobtrusive when fully retracted, and their complex and troublesome operating mechanisms.

It is accordingly the principal object of my invention to provide a collapsible metal awning having telescoping sections wherein the movable sections withdraw fully into the rearmost section when in fully retracted position, and wherein the operating mechanism is simple, dependable and long-wearing in operation.

A more particular object of the invention is to provide a telescoping awning of the character described which comprises a plurality of rear sections movable parallel to one another into the rearmost section, and a plurality of front sections movable radially into the frontmost rear section, upon retraction of the awning, and retraction and guide mechanism operative to retract the front sections prior to retraction of the rear sections.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a telescoping collapsible awning of the above nature including resilient means normally urging the various awning sections into extended position, and control means operable from within a house or other structure on which the awning is installed for setting the awning at any position between full extension or full retraction, as desired.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a telescoping collapsible awning of the character described which can economically be manufactured of light-weight sheet metal, such as of aluminum, and which will be trouble-free and strong enough to withstand and provide protection against high winds and rain for long periods of time.

Other objects, features and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description when read with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a telescoping collapsible awning embodying the invention,

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the awning in extended position and installed over a building window opening, and illustrates details of the operating mechanism at one side of the awning,

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2 but illustrating the awning in collapsed or fully retracted position,

FIG. 4 is horizontal cross-section taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows, illustrating details of the retracting mechanism,

FIG. 5 is a horizontal cross-section taken along the 'line 55 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows, illustrating details of the chain guide pulley,

FIG. 6 is a horizontal cross-section taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows, illustrating details of the parallel motion guide mechanism controlling the parallel movement of the rear awning sections,

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-section taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows, further 3,039,526 Patented June 19, 1962 illustrating details of the parallel motion guide mechamsm,

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-section taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows, illustrating details of the radial pivot mechanism of the front sections,

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale of the stop members preventing complete separation at the bottom of the rear sections,

FIG. 10 illustrates the chain and operator mechanism for controlling the awning from the inside, and

FIG. 11 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line 11-11 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows showing the inwardly-extending covering flange at the lower end of the rearmost one of the rear awning sections.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, 10 in FIG. 1 designates my improved telescoping collapsible awning generally, the same comprising a plurality of U-shaped rear sections 11, 12, 13 and a plurality of front U-shaped sections 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, of graduated size so as to nest snugly within one another in telescoping fashion as illustrated in FIG. 3 when moved into retracted position by operating mechanism hereinbelow described. The rearmost rear section 11 is formed with a short inwardlydirected front horizontal flange portion 20, a comparatively longer inwardly-directed rear horizontal flange portion 21, and opposed, inwardly-directed vertical flange portions 21a. An elongated box-like brace and support frame 22 is disposed within the rear section against the flange portion 21 thereof and secured in place at each end as by rivets 23 fixed in the vertical flange portions 21a (see FIG. 4).

The rear U-shaped sections 12, 13 are formed along their inner edges and at the top with short, outwardlydirected horizontally-extending flange portions 24, 25 respectively, and along their outer edges and at the top with short, inwardly-directed horizontally-extending flange portions 26, 27 respectively. The front U-shaped sections 14 through 19 are formed with along their inner edges and at the top with short, outwardly-directed horizontallyextending flange portions 28 through 33, respectively, and along their outer edges and at the top with short, inwardlydirected horizontally-extending flange portions 34 through 39, respectively. As illustrated in FIG. 5, when the awning is in fully extended condition the outwardlydirected flange portions 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33 of the respective awning sec-tions 12 through 19 hook behind the inwardly-directed flange portions 20, 26, 27, 34, 35, 36, 37 and 38 of the respective awning sections 11 through 18.

Parallel motion guide mechanism is provided for constraining the rear awning sections 11, 12 and 13 to relatively parallel motion in their extension and retraction. To this end there is secured against the inside of the vertical flange portions 21w at each side of the rearmost awning section 11 as by rivets 40 a pair of verticallyaligned U-shaped brackets 41 (see FIGS. 2, 6). Since the operating mechanism now to be described is the same at both sides within the awning, only the side illustrated by the vertical cross-section of FIGS. 2 and 3 is described in detail. Journalled on a pin 42 carried by each bracket 41 is the closed end of a U-shaped guide link 43 having spaced parallel arms 44, 45. A torsion spring 46 circumjacent the pivot pin 42 between the arms 44, 45 of the guide link 43 has one end 47 hooked over the arm 45 thereof and the other end 48 in abutment with the flange portion 21a of the rearmost section 11, and is arranged to constrain said guide link in the direction of downward or counter-clockwise movement. The outer ends of the arms 44, 45 of the lower guide link 43 terminate in upwardly-extending portions 49, 50, respectively (see FIG.

7) between which is secured, as by riveting for example, an outwardly-extending journal pin 51.

A second guide link member 52 is pivoted at one end to each of the guide links 43 at a position slightly behind and between the upwardly-extending portions 49, 50 thereof as by pivot pins 53 (see FIG. 2). The other ends of the second guide link members 52 are positioned horizontally when the awning is in extended condition, as illustrated in FIG. 2, and are pivoted as indicated at 54 in FIG. 2, to the inside vertical wall of the rear awning section 13. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the lower guide link member 52 is provided with an arcuate recess 55 directly under the journal pin 51, where it passes between the arms 44, 45 of the pertaining link member 43, within which said journal pin seats when the awning is in fully extending position, whereby rotation of the guide link 43 beyond its horizontal limit position is prevented.

Rotatably mounted on the outwardly-extending end of the lower journal pin 51 is a pulley 56 and a vertical connector link 58. The connector link 58 may conveniently be formed of a bent metal strip to have a rectangular end portion 59 surrounding the pulley 56. The upper end of the vertical connector link 58 is pivoted to the outwardlyextending end of a journal pin 60 riveted between the upwardly-extending portions 49, 50 of the upper arms 44, 45 respectively of the upper guide link 43. The upper guide link member 52 is also provided with an arcuate recess 61 within which the journal pin 60 seats when the awning is in fully extended position.

As best illustrated in FIG. 2, the rear awning sections 11, 12 and 13 are held together against relatively vertical displacement by means of elongated link members 62, 63, link member 62 of which is pivoted at its ends between the inside of the side portion of the rearmost section 11 near the upper end thereof and the outside of the side portions of the next rearmost section 12 near the lower end thereof, as indicated at 64 and 65, and link member 63 of which is pivoted at its ends between the inside of the section 12 near the upper end thereof and the outside of the side portion of the frontmost rear section 13 near the lower end thereof, as indicated at 66 and 67.

Means is provided for supporting the lower ends of the front awning sections 14 through 19 for rotary movement about a pivot point fixed with respect to the lower end of the frontmost front awning section 13. To this end a metallic grommet 68 (see FIG. 8) extends through aligned openings in the lower ends of the sections 13 through 19. Also carried by the grommet 68 for rotary motion about the axis thereof and disposed at the inside of the awning against the inner side surface of the section 13 thereof is a pulley lever 69 having an outwardlydirected lower end portion 70 which abuts against the bottom edges of the awning section 13 to limit counterclockwise movement of said pulley line to an angle of about 45 degrees to the left of the vertical when the awning is in fully extended position, as seen in FIG. 2. Means is provided to resiliently urge the pulley lever 69 in the counter-clockwise direction about its pivot point, to which end a helical torsion spring 71 is coaxially disposed within the grommet 68, one end 72 of which abuts against a lug 74 struck outwardly of the side of the frontmost front awning section 13, and the other end 73 of which is secured against an inwardly bent side flange 39a of the outermost front awning section 19 by a lug 75 struck therein. The outer end of the pulley lever 69 is bent into a rectangular shaped portion 76 (FIG. 2) which surrounds a guide pulley 77 journalled on a transverse pin 78.

It is to be noted that the torsion springs 46 and 71 normally retain the awning in the extended position, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Manually controllable means is provided however for retracting and securing the awning at any position between full extension and full retraction. To this end there is journalled between the ends of the support frame 22 a control shaft 79 (see FIG. 4) carrying at each end a spool 80* having a shank portion 31 secured as by taper pin 82 to said shaft. Each spool 8:) has secured thereto one end of a control cord 83, which may be of woven nylon strands for example. The cords 83 extend downwardly under guide pulleys 84 journalled between the arms of a U-shaped pulley bracket 85 secured against the vertical flange portions 21:: of the rearmost rear awning section 11 as by rivets 36 (see FIG. 5), and thence pass under the respective pulleys 56 and over the respective pulleys 77 to terminate in connection with the flange portion 39a of the outermost section 19 of the outer awning sections, as indicated at 37.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the inner edges of the sides of the awning sections 12 through 19 are provided near their upper ends with right-angular inwardly-struck lugs 88 through respectively, adjacent ones of which abut each other when the awning is in fully retracted condition, as illustrated in FIG. 3, to prevent further inward movement of the telescoping sections. The support frame 22 has a short downwardly-bent horizontal flange portion 96 against which the lug 88 of the inner awning section 12 abuts in limited retracted position. Clips 97 and 98 secured at the lower ends of the sides of the rear sections 11 and 12 in mutually oflset relation as by rivets 99 are formed with short inwardly-extending clip portions which contact the lower ends of the link member 63, 62, respectively, when the awning is in fully extended position (see FIG. 9) to prevent further withdrawal of the bottom portions of the rear awning sections 12 and 13.

Mechanism is provided for the rotation of the control shaft 79 from the inside of a window W over which the awning may be installed, to which end said control shaft has secured thereon at one side next to the spool 80 a bevel gear 100 in mesh with a bevel gear 101 fixed at one end of a shaft 102 journalled in the support frame 22 (see FIG. 4). As illustrated in FIG. 4, the shaft 102 is adapted to be passed through a window frame and carry on its inner end a ball chain pulley 103 rotatably supported in a bracket 104 secured against the inside of the wall as by screws 105. A ball chain 106 extends vertically along the inside of the wall to loop about a second ball chain pulley 103a supported in a bracket 107 located at a height for easy reach. The pulley 103a has a shaft in common with a crank handle 108 by means of which the control shaft 79 can be rotated in one direction or the other for retracting or extending the awning. A slide pin 109 is provided in the lower bracket 107 for locking the pulley 103a in any position of rotary adjustment, whereby the awning will become locked in the corresponding position, either fully retracted or at any position between full retraction and full extension, as desired. In a retracting operation the winding in of the control cords 83 will first serve to telescope or collapse together the outer awning sections 14 through 19 into the frontmost rear section 13, after which, by virtue of the pulley lever 69 having thus been moved to a vertical position, a great enough vertical component of force will be applied to the pulley 56 to move the parallel motion guide mechanism 43, 55, 58 into collapsed position of the rear awning sections 11, 12 and 13, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

The awning structure may conveniently be assembled in place against the outside of a building over a window W by means of an awning rail 110 fixed against the building as by screws 111 and having a longitudinal recess within which a longitudinal bead along the upper end of the rearmost awning section 11 fits in interlocking relation (see FIG. 2). Additionally, th side flanges 21a of the rearmost awning section 11 can be secured against the building as by screws 112 extending through said flanges (see FIG. 1).

As illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 11, the lower ends of the sides of the rearmost awning section 11 are bent inwardly to provide flanges 113 which serve to cover the lower edges of remaining awning sections 12 through 19 when the awning is in retracted position.

While there is described and illustrated herein one form in which my invention can conveniently be embodied in practice, it is to be understood that this embodiment is presented in way of example only, and not in a limiting sense. The invention, in brief, is limited only by the scope and spirit of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A collapsible metal awning comprising, in combination, a plurality of U-shaped rear sections each having a top wall and spaced parallel side wall portions and being of such graduated size as to nest within one another in telescoping fashion, means constraining said rear sections to relatively parallel motion in telescoping fashion, a plurality of U-shaped front sections each having a top wall and spaced parallel side wall portions and being of such graduated size as to nest within one another and within the smallest of said rear sections in telescoping fashion, said U-shaped rear and front sections being formed of sheet metal mechanism interconnecting the open ends of said side wall portions of said front sections with the open ends of the smallest of said side wall portions of said rear sections for relatively rotary motion in telescoping fashion about a common axis, manually controlled mechanism supported by the largest of said rear sections for sequentially rotatively retracting said front sections into the smallest of said rear sections and then retracting said rear sections into the largest of said rear sections, resilient means to normally maintain said rear sections and said front sections is extended condition, and means preventing separation of adjacent ones of said sections beyond the fully extended relative position.

2. A collapsible metal awning as defined in claim 1 wherein said separation preventing means comprises an inwardly-turned flange portion at the front edge of each of said sections and an outwardly-turned flange portion at the rear edge of each of said sections and adapted to hookingly engage adjacent ones of said inwardly-turned flanges.

3. A collapsible metal awning as defined in claim 1, wherein said rear sections constraining means comprises a pair of parallel motion guide link mechanisms arranged at each side within the awning.

4. A collapsible awning as defined in claim 3 wherein said sequentially retracting manually controlled mechanism comprises a control shaft journalled within the largest of said rear sections, crank means for rotating said control shaft, a pair of spools carried by said control shaft, an operating cord fixed at one end of each of said spools and windable thereon, a pair of pulley levers, one end of each of said pulley levers being rotatably journalled with respect to said common rotary axis of said front sections at each side of the awning, and a first pulley carried by the other end of each of said pulley levers, said cords being trained about said first pulleys and being connected at their other ends to one each of the outer end portions of the side portions of the smallest of said front sections, and mechanism limiting the pivotal motion of said pulley levers in the direction of full extension of said outer sections to an amount of about circular degrees less than the position of full rotary extension of said smallest of said front sections.

5. A collapsible awning as defined in claim 4, wherein said sequentially retracting manually controlled mechanism further comprises a second pulley journalled on each of said parallel guide link mechanism, said cords being trained one each about said second pulleys at positions therealong intermediate said spools and said first pulleys.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 223,687 Whitehead Jan. 20, 1880 2,127,062 Kitchins Aug. 16, 1938 2,856,996 Gamache Oct; 21, 1958 

